After 10 years of traveling to Cuba and studying our policy toward the island, I’ve developed strong opinions on both. But to keep myself honest, I continually read what the “other half” thinks, and challenge myself not only to admit points of agreement, but to question my own accumulated conclusions.

Photo credit: Roubicek's photostream

Cuban economists Armando Nova and Omar Everleny Perez just completed a speaking tour in recent weeks that has helped to explain what's behind much of the discussion around reform in Cuba. One noteworthy contribution of their talks has been to lift the lid on issues of corruption in Cuba in the context of the current economic crisis. The University of Havana economists argue that there is no alternative to dramatic reforms to the Cuban economic system, largely because there is no escaping the reality that Cubans have no alternative themselves to operating on a vast black market that has appropriated the system for its own ends. The reforms we're reading about aren't reforms so much as an attempt to throw the responsibility for maintenance of the system onto those who, as Ted Henken put it on this page, are cannibalizing it from within.

In the United States we have a different form of social cannibalism -- the kind that seeks to turn our political structures into a black market for influence (shocking, I know). But sometimes the system works to prevent a wrong, as occurred this week when Roll Call blew the whistle on an interesting fund raising strategy proposed by a leader of the folks who have advocated harsh measures against Cuba. Congresswoman Ileana Ros Lehtinen ranking minority member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, decided she wanted to get a little help from supportive PACs as she shaped U.S. foreign policy. And she is nothing if not forward-thinking -- her invitation to potential advisors read: "When the GOP regains the majority, I would turn to you for advice on pertinent issues affecting our nation." A modest invitation fee, $2,500 per PAC, is all it takes to get you in the door.

But it was not to be. Roll Call was only the first to call the Congresswoman out on this, reminding us all of the section of the House Ethics Manual that reads: “a Member should not sponsor or participate in any solicitation that offers donors any special access to the Member in the Member’s official capacity.” Once the event was canceled, other outlets followed (CQ here and the Miami Herald here). It gives one hope to see a little old-fashioned muckraking in the public interest.

With the media focusing on the polarizing politics of engagement between the U.S. and Cuba, it is easy to overlook some of the great things that ordinary Cubans are doing on the island and around the world. Too often, Cuba is mentioned only in the context of the embittered embargo and the tense situation on the island. But one story has come out recently that highlights the good work done by ordinary people.

Photo credit: ClixYou's Photostream

Cardinal Jaime Ortega's interview in the Catholic publication Palabra Nueva received ample attention in the press here in the United States. While noting the point – obvious to observers of all political persuasions – that Cuba is not responding well to the myriad challenges it confronts, the Cardinal called for “the prayers and actions of all the faithful so that love, reconciliation and forgiveness will open between Cubans here and elsewhere.” And he called for Cuba to respect its own constitution and grant the Church full religious freedom "so that it can fully develop its mission in Cuba, to support the common good."

Photo Credit: Joe Crimmings Photography

When President Obama said he'd be the main attraction at a Democratic fundraiser in the home of Cuban American superstar Gloria Estefan, some speculated that he'd be swayed by her passion for the human rights of Cubans and say something (or something more) that would further condition U.S. policy on how the Cuban government treats its citizens.

By Jorge Piñon and Anya Landau French

At the beginning of this week President Obama is focused on one of the most serious and difficult to solve problems confronting any administration, the danger of proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Later in the week he will be in Miami and face one of the most enduring yet solvable of administration foreign policy problems, Cuba.

This could be the most appropriate place and best chance he has to reset US relations with Havana, and thus with the western Hemisphere.

As I wrote here last week, both countries appear to be retreating to well-worn and counterproductive positions.

Secretary of State Clinton replied to a question at the University of Louisville:

http://mocoloco.com/art/archives/002236.php

Update: Marc Frank of Reuters reports on the nation-wide transfer of government operated barber shops and beauty salons to their employees.

Original Post:

You won't find a soul in Cuba who doesn't agree that the country's government has a lot of economic restructuring to do in the coming months and years. The question is always how to do it.

Rev. Raimundo Garcia and his daughter Rita with XO computers donated by FRD to establish a One Laptop Per Child pilot project at the Christian Center for Reflection and Dialogue in Cardenas.

“the president seems more convinced than ever that we must place strict preconditions on any changes in U.S. policy”

Wishful thinking (hopefully) by Roger Noriega, former staff of Sen. Jesse Helms and President Bush’s Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, commenting in Forbes Magazine on President Obama

As I return from my twelfth or thirteenth visit to Cuba in as many years, it is hard not to feel frustrated that both countries are retreating to the tired and self-righteous rhetoric and practices of past decades.

From olya's photostream

A Guest Post from Tomas Bilbao of the Cuba Study Group

Photo Credit: Desde La Habana

Senator John Kerry’s decision to put a hold on U.S. aid for Cuban dissidents through the USAID’s Cuba democracy program was met with support from some seemingly unlikely people: the Cuban recipients of the funds that stand to possibly lose the money.

In an AFP article found here, several prominent Cuban dissidents state their support for a review of the $20 million program, which currently goes to support political prisoners and their families, promote the development of civil society, and provide communications equipments to opposition groups.